We see eyes wearily opening and closing before waking up fully and seeing an orange-haired girl fill their view. The girl's name is Nora Valkyrie.
Nora: "Wake up, lazy butt!" (dashes to the side)
We then see the person she was talking too, being a black-haired boy named Lie Ren, gets up with a groan as Nora hounds him.
Nora: (singing) "It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!"
Lie Ren sighs again and the scene changes to him brushing his teeth in the restroom while Nora continues to talk.
The bathrooms are NOT co-ed, Nora being in the same bathroom as Ren is simply just Nora being, well, Nora.
Nora: "I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?"
The scene changes again to the ballroom, where the two are readying themselves. Nora is brushing her hair and still chattering while Ren is tightening the strings on his sleeping bag.
Nora: "We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not "together-together..." Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?"
They're childhood friends, from the same village.
The scene changes again as the two are in the middle of eating their breakfast, Nora having a pancake hanging from her mouth as she is still talking.
Nora: (muffled through her food) "Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together! (slurps up the rest of her pancake) Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work, he has the school."
The scene then changes again as the two are readying themselves in the locker room, Ren loading his weapon, which is called "StormFlower", and Nora still talking.
Nora: "I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! (gasps) A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"
Ren: (finally replying) "Nora?"
Nora: "Yes, Ren?"
Ren: (sheathing his weapons in his sleeves) "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
Nora: (thinks about this for a moment) "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"
Ren: (smiling and shutting his locker) "Come on Nora, let's go."
Nora: "Not "together-together..."" (giggles)
Ren then heads out while a skipping Nora follows, passing Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long as they are busy readying themselves.
Ruby: "Wonder what those two are so worked up about?"
Yang: "Eh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!"
Ruby: "Yep! No more awkward small talk or "getting-to-know-you" stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." (strokes Crescent Rose as she sighs happily)
Yang: "Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through the initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together with them."
Ruby: (sighs in frustration) "You sound like Dad! (shoves her weapon into the locker) Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"
Yang: "But what about when we form teams?"
Ruby: (suddenly nervous) "Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something..."
Yang: (Bringing her hair around her shoulder and stroking it) "Maybe you should try being on someone else's team? Like Nick's?"
Ruby: "I guess I could try being on a team with Nick. But...my dear sister, Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"
Yang: "What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!"
Ruby: "What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"
Blonde-Haired Boy (the same one from the previous chapter): "Ridiculous! (suddenly walking in between the sisters, holding a map and looking lost) There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"
Nick: (to the blonde boy) "Let me take a look at that, will ya?"
The blonde boy then hands Nick the map, which he looks at.
Nick: "It says your locker is number 686."
Blonde Boy: (confused) "What? That's not right. Why does it say that I have 636 then?"
Nick: (shows him the map and points at it) "It's because there's a smudge on the map. Also, it looks like there's two "Locker 636"s because of the smudge."
The blonde boy looks at where Nick is pointing on the map to see that he's correct.
Blonde Boy: "Oh. Thanks."
Nick: "No problem, dude."
The blonde boy then walks away as Weiss, and the red-haired girl from the previous chapter were getting ready at their lockers.
Weiss: "So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!"
The Red-Haired Girl (now known as Pyrrha): "Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
Weiss: "Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."
Pyrrha: "Well, that sounds grand!"
Weiss: "Great!"
The background disappears into a thundercloud as Weiss adopts a scheming pose and manic smile in her head.
Weiss: (thought) 'This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!'
The Blonde Boy: (coming between them and interrupting Weiss' evil train of thought) "You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
Weiss: (irritated) "Who are you? And do you mind? We're having a conversation here."
Pyrrha: (looks towards the blonde boy, who we now know is named Juane) "How are you doing, Jaune?"
Jaune: "Other then how it took me a while to find my locker, pretty good. Thanks, Pyrrha."
Weiss: (confused) "Wait...You two know each other?"
Jaune: "Well, yeah. Pyrrha and I have been friends sense back at Sanctum High School. Also, I think it'd be great if you and I were part of the same team. Don't you think, Pyrrha?"
Weiss: (separating the two, before Pyrrha could answer) "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to? This is Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum! She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record! AND, She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"
Jaune: "Yeah, and? Like I said, Pyrrha and I have been best friends sense we were both students at Sanctum."
Pyrrha: "Admittingly, Jaune here was also my ONLY friend back at Sanctum. Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!"
Jaune: (brightens up) "D'oh, stop it!"
Weiss: "Seriously, please DO stop it. This kind of person should not be encouraged!"
An announcement plays on the intercom system.
Glynda (voice only): "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
Weiss then walks away.
Pyrrha: "Shall we get going, Jaune?"
Jaune: "Yeah, let's go."
Time Skip....
The scene opens to the Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and Glynda with her tablet.
Ozpin: "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Glynda: "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."
Ruby: "What? Ohhh..."
Ozpin: "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone who you can work well with."
Ruby: (groaning)
Ozpin: "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Ruby: (the shocked expression mirrors her world cracking like glass and falling apart) "Whaaaat?!"
Nora: (to Ren) "See? I told you-!"
Ozpin: "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
Nick just sighs at this.
Ozpin: "You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Jaune: (raising his hand) "Yeah, um, sir?"
Ozpin: "Good! Now, take your positions."
Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, Nick just stands on his tile, doing some light stretches, with Amber next to him, and Jaune is still raising his hand.
Jaune: "Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question. (he misses the tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line) So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
Ozpin: "No. You will be falling."
Jaune: (missing more students being thrown) "Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"
Ozpin: "No. You will be using your own "landing strategy.""
Jaune: (still not seeing an excited Nora and Ren getting launched) "Uh-huh... Yeah."
At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her, followed by Nick and Amber.
Jaune: "So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!..."
He asks this part just when he finally has to get hurled with the cloud of students now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink. We then see an overhead view of the Emerald Forest, where a black bird is flying slowly and magnificently, right up to the moment it gives a final shriek and Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.
Ruby: "Birdie, no!"
Ruby fires off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace. Weiss, armed with her weapon, Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake circle under her and leaps off of it to the forest below. Ren descends (with Nora Valkyrie briefly being seen next to him at a faster speed) and spins in the air, eventually using StormFlower's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...
Yang: "Woo-hoo! Yeah! Alley-oop!"
Yang, soaring right over the treetops, is using her gauntlets and its fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.
Yang: "Nailed it!" (runs off)
Pyrrha, her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard.
Jaune: (in the distance) "Thanks, Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha: (waving) "I'm sorry!"
Jaune: (in the distance) "Stop apologizing! We've been over this!"
In the middle of the forest, Ruby lands in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind.
Ruby (thought): 'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find...' (shouting) "Yang! Yaaaang!" (internally, now seeing herself partnered with various people) 'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad...What if I can't find her? What if someone else finds her first? Well, there's always Nick. He's nice, and I think he can hold his own in a fight, too. But, there's something about him that feels familiar to me...Like I've met him somewhere before...Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm...Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her...Ugh! (shakes her head of daydreams) Okay...Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Nick, Blake, aaaand...'
Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and a pregnant pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way.
Ruby: (following her slightly) "Wait! Where are you going?! (stops and kicks the ground dejectedly) We're supposed to be teammates..."
Weiss is seen struggling through the forest, giving an occasional grunt or "Ow!" as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above her.
Jaune: (apparently struggling to free himself) "Come on, come on! Man, this is really jammed in there!"
Weiss sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As he gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving a wave. Weiss simply heads back in the direction she came from.
Weiss: (as she passes Ruby and pulls on her hood) "By no means does this make us friends."
Ruby: (overjoyed as she's dragged away into the bushes) "You came back!"
Jaune: (seeing the scene and waving his arms) "Hey, Wait! Come back! Could you at least give me hand here?!"
Pyrrha (below): "Jaune? (he looks down to see his best friend and savior) Do you...Require any assistance?"
Jaune: (crossing his arms) "Very funny, Pyrrha..." (he eventually looks down at her and gives a smile, which she returns)
The scene changes to Weiss trudging through the forest, with Ruby back a ways behind her.
Ruby: "What's the hurry?"
Weiss: "I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your— (a smiling Ruby suddenly appears next to her) What the...?!"
Ruby: "I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!"
Weiss: (looking back, slightly amazed) "When did...?!"
Ruby: "Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters! (gets an arm around a skeptical Weiss' shoulders) You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, "Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... (somewhat mousily) and I wanna be her friend!""
Ruby disappears in a shower of rose petals, which Weiss waves away from her face just as she hears crackling and rustling in the bushes around her.
Weiss: (calling out to Ruby) "You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time! (silence, save more noises) Ruby? (the forest darkens, forcing Weiss to lean in to try and find her new partner as a pair of red eyes are seen glaring behind her) Ruby...?"
Multiple pairs of red eyes stare at her from the bushes and a deep growl is heard. She turns around until she spots a large, black, jagged wolf, which is a type of Grimm called a Beowolf, emerging from a bush and approaching her.
Weiss: "Ruby!"